What social distancing?

April 24, 2020

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Credit: Paresh Nath, The Khaleej Times, UAE

President Jair Bolsonaro continues to break social distancing measures as the number of COVID-19 cases rise at an average of about 2,500 cases a day in Brazil. On Sunday, Bolsonaro attended a far-right rally in the country’s capital of Brasília where attendees demanded an end to social distancing measures, the closure of congress and the supreme court, and a return to military dictatorship. Bolsonaro, who coughed repeatedly during his speech, told the crowd “everyone in Brazil must understand that they must yield to the will of the Brazilian people.”

Bolsonaro has gone against social distancing measures numerous times, even as those working close to him test positive for the virus. Last week, after clashes over his controversial response to the pandemic, Bolsonaro fired popular Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta. Bolsonaro has often criticized the quarantine measures imposed by local governments and is now pushing for Brazilians to get back to work. He has dismissed the pandemic as media “hysteria,” and referred to it as a “little cold.”